Office Depot Class Action Lawsuit: Alleged Email Privacy Violations in Arizona

A class action lawsuit has been filed against Office Depot, alleging that the company secretly embedded spy pixel trackers in its marketing emails to Arizona residents. The lawsuit claims that these trackers collect sensitive information without the recipients' consent, violating Arizona's privacy laws.

Consumers Affected: Arizona residents who received and opened marketing emails from Office Depot containing spy pixel trackers.

Reason for Lawsuit: Allegations of unauthorized surveillance of email activity, violation of Arizona's Telephone, Utility, and Communication Service Records Act, and invasion of privacy.

Court: The class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.

Office Depot has been hit with a class action lawsuit alleging the office supplies giant hid spy pixel trackers in its emails to customers. 

Plaintiff Nancy Encinas filed the class action complaint against Office Depot LLC on June 18 in an Arizona federal court, alleging violations of the Arizona's Telephone, Utility, and Communication Service Records Act.

According to the lawsuit, Office Depot, one of the nation's leading providers of office supplies, violated the law by embedding hidden spy pixel trackers in its marketing emails sent to Arizona residents.

Hidden Trackers Allegedly Capture Sensitive Information from Email Recipients

Office Depot operates over 900 retail stores nationwide, including 23 in Arizona, the lawsuit states.

To drive customer engagement and boost sales, the company encourages customers to subscribe to its email list. 

However, these emails allegedly contain spy pixel trackers that collect a wide range of sensitive information without the recipients' consent, Encinas alleges.

The lawsuit claims that these spy pixels capture and log various details such as: the time and place the email is opened, how long the email is read, the recipient's location and the email client used. It also allegedly collects the recipient's IP address and device information.

The hidden trackers also use custom URLs specific to each recipient and email, providing detailed analytics to Office Depot, the lawsuit says. 

The company reportedly uses these insights to analyze email engagement metrics such as clicks, conversions, revenue, and impressions.

Lawsuit Claims Office Depot Violated Arizona Privacy Law

The legal violation comes from the lack of consent from email recipients for this extensive data collection, the lawsuit claims. 

Arizona's Telephone, Utility, and Communication Service Records Act bans companies from obtaining communication service records without authorization. 

“Plaintiff was unaware that tracking pixels were embedded in the emails as Defendant does not inform users it embeds tracking pixels in its marketing emails,” the lawsuit states. “Defendant never received consent from Plaintiff and Class Members to use these spy pixels.”  

Encinas says Office Depot's actions constitute a clear violation of this statute by secretly surveilling email interactions and collecting confidential data without permission.

Plaintiffs Seek Damages for Unlawful Surveillance of Email Activity

Encinas seeks to represent anyone in Arizona who opened a marketing email from Office Depot containing a tracking pixel. He’s seeking certification of the class action, damages of $1,000 per violation, fees, costs and a jury trial.

In 2019, Office Depot and a California-based tech support software provider agreed to pay $35 million to settle Federal Trade Commission allegations that the companies tricked customers into buying millions of dollars’ worth of computer repair and technical services by deceptively claiming their software had found malware symptoms on the customers’ computers.

Case Details

• Lawsuit: Encinas v. Office Depot LLC.
• Case Number: 2:24-cv-00759
• Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona

Plaintiffs' Attorneys

• Gerald Barrett (Ward, Keenan & Barrett P.C.)
• Yitzchak Kopel (Bursor & Fisher P.A.)